In currency trading that concluded at 6 pm, the local currency weakened to a range of 4.2970/3005 against the US dollar. This was a noticeable decline from its Thursday closing levels of 4.2780/2830.
According to Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, the chief economist of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, the US Dollar Index (DXY) had shown signs of firming up in recent trading sessions. It continued to hover around the 100-point mark. This movement in the DXY likely contributed to the ringgit’s depreciation against the US dollar.
Adding to the context, China’s trade data for April presented a mixed picture. Exports to the US witnessed a significant decline of 21 percent. In contrast, China’s export growth to ASEAN and the European Union accelerated by 22.5 percent and 8.3 percent respectively. Dr Mohd Afzanizam pointed out that if the ongoing tariff issues remain unresolved, this trend of differential export growth rates is likely to persist.
The ringgit’s performance against other major currencies also reflected its overall weakness. Against a basket of major currencies, the local currency closed lower.
When compared to the Japanese yen, the ringgit edged down to 2.9565/9591, down from its Thursday closing values of 2.9534/9571. It also depreciated against the euro, moving to 4.8320/8359 from 4.8264/8321 at the previous day’s close. Similarly, the ringgit fell against the British pound, trading at 5.7004/7050, down from 5.6769/6835.
Moreover, the ringgit’s performance against its ASEAN peers was predominantly bearish. It weakened against the Singapore dollar, with the exchange rate moving to 3.3095/3124 from 3.2984/3025 as of Thursday’s close. Against the Indonesian rupiah, it slid to 260.0/260.4 from 259.2/259.6. And versus the Philippine peso, the ringgit edged lower to 7.74/7.76 from 7.69/7.70 at the previous close. This comprehensive decline across various currency pairs signals a challenging period for the Malaysian ringgit in the current economic and trade environment.
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